Frontier Airlines goes to court today to seek approval of a proposal by Republic Airways Holdings to help the Denver-based carrier emerge from bankruptcy.

Republic Airways, based in Indianapolis, has agreed to pay $108.7 million for all of the equity in Frontier and its subsidiary, Lynx Aviation.

Under the agreement announced June 22, Frontier would become a wholly owned subsidiary of Republic.

Frontier filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April 2008. Company officials said the filing was due to its principal credit-card processor, First Data Corp. of Greenwood Village, withholding more cash from ticket sales.

In a June 22 court filing, Frontier said it has made “substantial progress” in restructuring operations and has reduced operating expenses by more than $98 million annually.

Frontier, which has 51 aircraft and 5,000 Denver employees, announced in June it had seven consecutive months of operating profit.

Republic, which has 4,500 employees and owns subsidiaries Chautauqua, Republic and United Express, last month said it was buying Midwest Airlines for $31 million.

Judge Robert D. Drain of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York will decide today whether to approve Frontier’s reorganization plan.

If approved, a 30-day period begins where other investors will have a chance to outbid Republic. However, aviation experts don’t believe other suitors will emerge.

Aug. 3 is the deadline for other potential investors to submit proposals. Binding written proposals must be presented by Aug. 10.

If there are other investors, an auction will be held Aug. 11. Bidding would begin at the highest qualified proposal and continue at increments of at least $1 million.

If no other offers are received, the auction will not be held. Frontier would notify the court within three business days that Republic’s proposal was successful, and the court would approve it.

Republic officials said Frontier will still be known by that name, citing the airline’s well-established brand. However, it is not known whether Frontier’s headquarters will remain in Denver.

A customer dining at Washington’s Oceanaire restaurant noticed an unusual line at the bottom of his receipt: “Due to the rising costs of doing business in this location, including costs associated with higher minimum wage rates, a 3% surcharge has been added to your total bill.”